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Dark Shadows
Category:Programs | image = | format = | running time = 30 min. | genre = | rating = | country = USA | network = ABC | seasons = 5 (years) | number of episodes = 1,245 | production company = Dan Curtis Productions, Inc. | executive producers = Dan Curtis | producers = Robert Costello; Lela Swift; George DiCenzo; Sy Tomashoff | principal cast = Alexandra Moltke; Jonathan Frid; Joan Bennett; Nancy Barrett; John Karlen; Kathryn Leigh Scott; Louis Edmonds; David Henesy; David Selby; David Ford; Joel Crothers; Roger Davis; Thayer David; Christopher Pennock; Mitchell Ryan; Kate Jackson; Diana Millay; Marie Wallace; James Storm; Denise Nickerson; Don Briscoe | 1st = June 27th, 1966 | last = April 2nd, 1971 }} Dark Shadows is a television soap opera that aired on ABC from June of 1966 to April of 1971 spanning a total of 1,245 episodes. Created by Dan Curtis, the series proved to be extremely popular owing primarily to its gothic atmosphere and subject matter. The series centered around the Collins family of the fictional town known as Collinsport in Northern Maine. The early episodes were shown from the perspective of a young woman named Victoria Winters, who comes to Collinsport, hoping to find clues to her mysterious past. In the beginning, the series followed the plot conventions of a traditional soap opera, but slowly began to infuse elements of the supernatural into it, such as ghosts and mythological creatures like the Phoenix. In 1967, the series paved the way for its future cult status with the introduction of a 175-year-old vampire named Barnabas Collins. Originally intended as a villain, Barnabas Collins proved to be extremely popular with viewers, and the production crew decided to steer him away from the role of adversary and evolve him into the central figure of the series. In addition to vampires and ghosts, Dark Shadows showcased many other supernatural creatures including werewolves, witches, zombies and demons. Many of the plot threads from the series were inspired by famous literary works including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Turn of the Screw, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and even elements of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. The show also made use of certain science fiction elements including time travel and parallel dimensions. Due to budgetary restraints and restricted shooting schedules, most of the shots filmed for the series were done in one take. Aired episodes included a variety of mistakes including actors mis-speaking their lines or visible production crew members and equipment. In 1991, a revival series of Dark Shadows was produced and aired on NBC. This series did not enjoy the longevity of its predecessor and only lasted twelve episodes. Characters Episodes * Dark Shadows: 154 * Dark Shadows: 276 * Dark Shadows: 374 * Dark Shadows: 613 * Dark Shadows: 614 * Dark Shadows: 615 * Dark Shadows: 616 * Dark Shadows: 706 * Dark Shadows: 733 * Dark Shadows: 776 Storylines * Dark Shadows: The Journey of Victoria Winters (1-127) * Dark Shadows: Burke Devlin's Revenge Plot (1-201) * Dark Shadows: The Return of Laura Collins (123-191) * Dark Shadows: Jason McGuire's Blackmail Scheme (193-276) * Dark Shadows: The Arrival of Barnabas Collins (210-227) * Dark Shadows: The Abduction of Maggie Evans (229-261) * Dark Shadows: The Ghost of Sarah Collins (255-365) * Dark Shadows: 1795 Flashback (366-460) * Dark Shadows: 1796 Flashback (396-460) * Dark Shadows: The Dream Curse (461-536) * Dark Shadows: The Birth of Adam (486-626) * Dark Shadows: The Curse of the Werewolf (627-978) * Dark Shadows: The Ghost of Quentin Collins (639-700) * Dark Shadows: 1897 Flashback (701-885) * Dark Shadows: 1796 Flashback (reprise) (885-887) * Dark Shadows: The Leviathan Cult (886-980) * Dark Shadows: 1970 Parallel Time (969-1060) * Dark Shadows: The Ghost of Gerard Stiles (1061-1109) * Dark Shadows: 1840 Flashback (1110-1198) * Dark Shadows: 1841 Parallel Time (1186-1245) Notes & Trivia * Two full-length feature films were developed from the Dark Shadows franchise. The first was the 1970 film House of Dark Shadows, which loosely adapted the first major story-arc involving Barnabas Collins. The second was the 1971 sequel, Night of Dark Shadows, which featured an original story that had little connection to the previous film or the series from which it was based. * Dark Shadows is the first daytime soap opera to use special effects. Dark Shadows: America's Love Affair With a Vampire * Dark Shadows was ABC's first colored soap opera. * Episode 295 is the first color episode of Dark Shadows. * Episode 1198 is a pivotal episode in the Dark Shadows series. In addition to it being the conclusion to the "1840 Flashback" story-arc, it is also the final appearance of Collinsport, its environs and all of the main characters from the present day era. * Episode 874 was the final episode of Dark Shadows with Robert Costello as producer. With his departure, production duties fell to series director Lela Swift. Costello later went on to work as a producer on the soap opera Ryan's Hope (which Swift likewise would work on). * Grayson Hall, Dennis Patrick and Sharon Smyth were all born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. * Actors Anthony George and Dana Elcar both passed away in 2005. * Grayson Hall's son, Matthew Hall, was a writer on the 1991 Dark Shadows revival series. * Joel Crothers and Grayson Hall both passed away in 1985. * David Ford and Grayson Hall both died in New York on August 7th, but in different years. David died in 1983 and Grayson died in 1985. Actress Isabella Hoopes, who played Edith Collins on Dark Shadows, also died on August 7th, but in 1987. Hoopes likewise passed away in New York. * The infamous "Aged Barnabas" episode is episode #348. For this scene, actor Peter Murphy played the role of Barnabas Collins. The special effects were provided by makeup artist Dick Smith. * Series writer Sam Hall and actress Betsy Durkin share the same birthday, March 11th. Hall was born in 1921 while Durkin was born in 1947. Home Video * Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series * Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 1 * Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 2 * Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 3 * Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 4 * Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 5 * Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 6 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 1 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 2 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 3 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 4 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 5 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 6 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 7 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 8 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 9 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 10 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 11 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 12 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 13 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 14 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 15 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 16 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 17 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 18 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 19 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 20 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 21 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 22 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 23 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 24 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 25 * Dark Shadows DVD Collection 26 See also External Links References ---- Category:Dan Curtis Productions Category:ABC Category:1960s/Programs Category:1970s/Programs Category:1966/Premieres Category:1971/Cancellations Category:Kate Jackson Category:Susan Sullivan